Myostatin plays a robust, negative role in controlling muscle mass. A disruption of myostatin function by transgenic expression of its propeptide (the 5'region, 866 nucleotides) results in significant muscle growth (Yang et al., 2001. Mol Rep Dev 60:351-361). Studies from myostatin and the propeptide transgene mRNA indicated that myostatin mRNA was detected at day 10.5 postcoitum in fetal mice. Its level remained low, but increased by 180% during the postnatal fast-growth period (day 0-10). An early, high-level postnatal expression of the transgene was identified as being responsible for a highly muscled phenotype. High-fat diet induces adiposity in rodents. To study the effects of dietary fat on muscle growth and adipose tissue fat deposition in the transgenic mice, we challenged the mice with a high-fat diet (45% kcal fat) for 21 weeks. Transgenic mice showed 24%-50% further enhancement of growth on the high-fat diet compared to the normal-fat diet (P = 0.004) from 17 to 25 weeks of age. The total mass of the main muscles of transgenic mice showed a 27% increase on the high-fat diet compared to the normal-fat diet (P = 0.004), while the white adipose tissue mass of the transgenic mice was not significantly different from that of wild-type mice fed a normal-fat diet (P = 0.434). The high-fat diet induced wild-type mice developed 190% greater mass of white adipose tissues compared to the normal-fat diet (P = 0.00, which primarily resulted from enlarged adipocytes. These results demonstrate that disruption of myostatin function by its propeptide shifted dietary fat utilization toward muscle tissues with minimal effects on adiposity. These results suggest that enhancing muscle growth by myostatin propeptide or other means during the early developmental stage may serve as an effective means for obesity prevention. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

sup'ose it's all right with humans now physically - at least no need to toy with miostatin anyway

(it can end up with all muscles growing - cardio too likely wierd thing) Somatotropin's kind of but effective, + it makes body younger . Anyway as you see it's used only in pro sport where stakes are sky-high

Imho, problems start first mostly in human's heads with obesity too, is it not?

Actually the tests they're currently doing on humans suggest that although it does indeed cause muscle growth the side effect is that you could get brittle tendons. Big muscles...brittle tendons...take your choice

I think I saw something about this years ago when they first started talking about this. They actually were able to make a rat that grew enormous muscles. I thought to myself, this is all we need .. enormous hulking super rats that kill cats and eat your face off at night.

But seriously, I think this is interesting research. I know for a few years now companies have been making supplements that help counteract Myostatin. I am doubtful that these supplements are have any real effect. But I have a feeling if something is discovered that really works it will take testosterone's place as the mother of all evils, lol.

What really, I find interesting, is that we basically have the ability to reinvent ourselves as a species, or even to create a new, chemically-evolved, branch.

For years, science has given us the ability to short-circuit evolution: antibiotics, growth hormone, surgery, AAS, insulin, and so on. Look at how much longer we are living now, than even 50 years ago. So many folks live now, that would have died much earlier, just a few years back.